"(Floodplains) are such hard workers on keeping our environment in good shape," said Sallie Fahey, APC executive director. "(The potential ordinance) also makes it clear that protecting floodplain is more important than a mining opportunity."

Fahey stressed that the ordinance is proceeding very slowly. The ordinance committee tabled the ordinance during its February and March meetings. It may take months, if at all, for the ordinance to be finalized, Fahey said.

Currently, one can seek a special exemption through the county's Area Board of Zoning Appeals to mine on floodplains. Rogers Group had tried to get the exemption in October, but the board turned the request down by a 4-2 vote. The group can challenge the ruling in court, but it has not yet done so.

"There's always a chance that Rogers Group could have filed an appeal," Fahey said.

The ordinance, if passed, will forbid entities from seeking the special exemption to mine on floodplains.

Some members of the Americus Area Community Coalition, which has been advocating against the quarry, came to the committee's March meeting to express support for the ordinance.

The ordinance would protect residents from being harmed by potential effects of mining, such as silt build-up that can put additional pressure on the levee, they said.

But some complications have slowed down the ordinance.

It's uncertain what will happen to the ordinance if Indiana passes a bill that would restrict local governments' ability to limit mining or harvesting timber, just as Rep. Jeff Ellington (R-Bloomington) had tried to do this year.

"Even if we pass (the ordinance) today, (a bill) can pass in the next (legislative) session and it would overturn the local ordinance," county commissioner Tom Murtaugh said.

Some committee members also had discussed what would happen to existing operations, although Fahey said during the March meeting that she thinks the proposed ordinance would not affect any current operations.